


Mercenary Day

by sarkywoman



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:09:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarkywoman/pseuds/sarkywoman
Summary: Rhys waits to see if his boyfriend will be home for Mercenary Day.





	Mercenary Day

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a pinch-hit for a secret santa in 2016.

The wine is good, at least. Rhys tries to console himself with that while the ECHO plays historical Mercenary Day music. They called it 'Christmas' back then, alluding to some sort of celebrity that had clearly been a major deal for the ancestors of the human race. 

All of the gifts are wrapped under the tree except for one. The single unwrapped gift rolls around on the sofa besides Rhys, fluffy little paws snatching at the string he dangles in front of it. He knows Tim will fall to pieces over the new addition to their family. Rhys hasn't even named the kitten yet, wanting Tim to have the honour.

But as the hour nears midnight on Mercenary Eve, Rhys is forced to conclude that it will be a lonely Mercenary Day. As sorry as he feels for himself, Tim's wellbeing is the bigger concern. His work on Pandora for Handsome Jack takes him into the most dangerous places, among the most dangerous people. As much as Rhys has grown to hate it, he sees that Tim has no other choice. It's just difficult to get home to an empty house and wait. 

More and more Rhys thinks about taking a shuttle and running away, but Tim calls that wishful thinking. He doesn't think they could outrun Handsome Jack for long. It's funny, Rhys used to idolise the guy. In fact, it's what initially attracted him to Tim. But as his time with Tim stretches out into what might be a lifelong commitment (they haven't discussed it, but Vaughn keeps bringing it up), Rhys is seeing all the flaws in Handsome Jack. His narcissism. His psychopathic nature. Tim is vastly preferable to any of that. 

To be fair, Tim had said he might not make it home for Mercenary Day.

Rhys finishes his wine and sets down the glass before scooping their little kitty up into his arms. He gives her a little nuzzle then carries her through to the bedroom so that she can settle at the end of the bed. 

He gets himself ready for bed, unable to avoid thinking of Tim as he disconnects his cybernetic arm. At first Tim had avoided touching it. Rhys thought it had disturbed him somehow, but the man later confessed that he simply hadn't wanted to break it. After Rhys had shown him the intricate connections near the top and how to handle them, Tim had taken to gently helping with it every night they were together. Doing it alone feels like such a chore now.

When Rhys gets into bed, their kitten pads slowly up to the pillows, watching him all the while. When she reaches him she puts a paw on his face for a while, then curls up on the nearby pillow.

Sometime later, he wakes because she is batting his nose and mewling pitifully. Ugh, pets.

“Alright, alright. The novelty's already wearing off on this, you know?”

It feels like he's only just gone to bed, but his clock says differently. It's Mercenary Day. He trudges out of the bedroom, planning on heading to the kitchen to sort out the kitten's breakfast, but stops in the living room.

Tim is laying on the sofa, peacefully snoozing, his face illuminated intermittently by the flashing lights on the tree. Rhys cries out, startling him awake. He sits up when he sees him, dropping a little gift on the floor that he quickly snatches up again.

“Hey, I didn't want to wake you. I got in late. Sorry.”

“No sorries needed!” Rhys hurries to embrace him. Tim is still fully clothed, his leather jacket a little muddy and maybe bloody, but Rhys doesn't look too closely. He just hugs him tight and presses his nose to his neck. “You are the best present.”

“No I'm not, who's that?!” Tim's voice almost squeaks on the last word and Rhys pulls back to see the kitten has followed him out of the bedroom and caught Tim's attention.

“Oh, I haven't named her yet. She's yours.”

Suddenly Rhys is not in a tender, loving embrace, but is standing in his pyjamas while his boyfriend kneels on the floor cooing over a kitten. 

“She's so fluffy!”

Rhys notices he's dropped his present again, a little box in simple gold paper. “Is this for me?” He picks it up off the floor.

“Oh, yeah. Look! She's licking her paw! Rhys, she's licking her paw. Oh my god.”

The kitten mewls.

“Did you hear that?! She's freakin' adorable! We need to feed her.”

His present now unwrapped, Rhys stares at it a moment before calling, “Tim?”

“Do you have special kitty food? Of course you do. Unless we're giving her real, proper meat, which is good too. We should do that, grill a little fishy and--”

“Tim!”

He catches his lover's attention and the man looks between him and the sparkling ring that Rhys holds.

“Oh jeez. Shit, sorry, got distracted by the kitten.” Tim shuffles over on both knees and plucks the box from Rhys' hands and offers it up to him again. “Will you marry me?”

“You're hopeless,” Rhys laughs. “But yeah, okay.”

Tim jumps up and hugs him. “This is the best fucking Mercenary Day.”

Rhys smiles. “You're just saying that because you got a kitten.”


End file.
